Excavations of Parthian Human Bone Remains at Liyarsangbon Cemetery, Amlash District, Guilan Province, Iran

Abstract

[NB: This article deals with human remains] Forty-nine graves were excavated at Liyarsangbon cemetery during two working seasons. The area is covered with thin layers of lime, rocky, and calcareous materials, with a relatively neutral to alkaline soil pH, good for the preservation of human skeletal remains. The remains discovered in excavation were dated to the Parthian and Sasanid periods per the grave goods. With the exception of one adolescent girl killed by knife and some bones of both sexes with cut marks, disease was determined to be the standard cause of death in the population. Furthermore, statistical analysis indicates that neither social status nor sex bias influenced burial types in the Parthian period in the region under study.